Written Answers Friday 16 March 2007

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent Single Farm Payment entitlements are being traded; whether it is aware of any entitlements being purchased by those with interests based outside Scotland and, if so, whether it will provide details.

Ross Finnie: Since the start of the Single Farm Payment Scheme on 1 January 2005, my department has received 1,687 applications to transfer entitlements. This figure represents 1,252 individual businesses transferring entitlements to 838 individual businesses. The detail of the number and value of entitlements transferred is outlined in the following table:

  

Type and Value of Entitlement Transferred
Total
From 15-05-05
  to 2-03-2005
From 3-05-05
to 2-03-2007


 
 
Effective for the 2006 Scheme
Effective for the 2007 Scheme


A. Number of Set-Aside 
Entitlements
  a. Value of Set-Aside
2,761.37

  £622,891.28
36.05

£8,124.06
2,725.32

  £614,767.22


B Number of Standard 
Entitlements
  b Value of Standard
160,834.17

  £11,893,631.46
1,375.04

  £240,728.324
159,459.13

£11,652,903.16


C Number of Other 
Entitlements
  c. Total Value of Other Entitlements
1.00

£174.05
00
1.00

£174.05


D Total Number of All 
Entitlements Transferred (A+B+C)
  d. Total Value of All Entitlements Transferred (a+b+c)
163,596.54

£12,516,696.80
1411.09

£240,728.32
162,185.45

  £12,267,844.42



  In the context of the Single Farm Payment Scheme, the number of producers transferring entitlements represents 8.3% of all producers holding entitlements and 4.1% of producers holding entitlements acquired at least some of them by transfer. In volume terms, 3.8% of all entitlements have been traded and in value terms, the trading represents 3.0% of the scheme’s annual expenditure.

  Of the total number of businesses (838) acquiring entitlements by transfer, 22 have correspondence addresses outside Scotland and one of these is located outside the United Kingdom. All of these are registered as Scottish businesses for the purposes of Environment and Rural Affairs Department support arrangements and are eligible to trade entitlements within Scotland.

Alcohol Misuse

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many alcohol-related deaths there were in hospitals in each of the last 10 years.

George Lyon: The information requested is presented in the following table.

  Alcohol-Related Deaths1 in Hospitals, Scotland, 1996-2005

  

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


562
618
641
705
794
833
864
942
834
871



  Source: 1. 1996-99: ICD9 codes: 291, 303, 305.0, 425.5, 571.0-571.5, 571.8-571.9, E860. 2000-05: ICD10 codes: F10, G31.2, G62.1, I42.6, K29.2, K70, K73, K74 (excludingK74.3-K74.5), K86.0, X45, X65, Y15.

Arts

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive in what specific ways the arts have been placed at the centre of the work of each of its departments.

Patricia Ferguson: The significant contribution of arts and culture in delivering ministerial objectives across the Scottish Executive is evidenced by key Executive strategies such as People and Place: Regeneration Policy Statement, the National Planning Framework for Scotland and All Our Futures: Planning for a Scotland with an Ageing Population.

  Scottish ministers and their officials from across the Executive meet regularly to ensure cultural activity continues to be central to policy delivery. We are currently producing a report of key cultural initiatives which each portfolio delivered during 2006. This is due to be published online by the end of March 2007.

Compulsory Purchase Orders

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether property number 39 in the Glasgow-Carlisle Special Road (M74) (Water of Milk to Ecclefechan) Compulsory Purchase Order 1992 remains in the possession of the Scottish ministers.

Tavish Scott: I can confirm that plot number 39 in the Glasgow-Carlisle Special Road (M74) (Water of Milk to Ecclefechan) Compulsory Purchase Order 1992 remains in the ownership of the Scottish Ministers.

Council Tax

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22271 by George Lyon on 13 January 2006, whether it will exempt people living in very sheltered accommodation in the Clydesdale parliamentary constituency and elsewhere from full council tax liability.

George Lyon: I am pleased to inform the Parliament that legislation before the Parliament will ensure residents in receipt of a housing support service living in certain defined accommodation will be exempt from local taxation altogether. This will include water and sewerage charges. The legislation containing the full definition was laid in Parliament on 13 March 2007 and is planned to come into force on 1 April 2007.

  In addition, we asked all Scottish local authorities to work with us to ensure that individuals in receipt of a housing support service and residing in certain defined shared accommodation were granted either a refund of all council tax and water and sewerage charges paid, or the debt accrued was written off.

Crime

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of (a) offences against the person, (b) sexual offences, (c) robbery, (d) burglary, (e) theft, (f) fraud, (g) drug offences and (h) motoring offences have been recorded (i) since 1997 and (ii) in the last 12 months in each police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: Then information requested about the number of instances of burglary recorded since 1997 in each police force area is given in The numbers of violent crimes, vehicle thefts and burglaries in each police authority and local authority area from 1986 to 1994, and 1995-96 to 2005-06 , a copy of which was placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 41211) in response to Mr Stevenson’s earlier request.

  The other information requested is given in the following tables. The phrase ‘offences against the person’ is not a standard definition for Scottish crimes. We have interpreted this as the total of crimes of violence, crimes of indecency, offensive weapon offences, minor assaults and breach of the peace.

  Recorded Crimes of (a) Offences Against the Person Since 1997-98 by Police Force Area

  

 
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Central
6,660
6,286
6,660
6,697
7,962
8,438
8,640
9,753
9,328


Dumfries and Galloway
3,738
3,887
3,435
3,074
3,065
3,527
4,974
5,188
4,603


Fife
8,330
8,034
8,265
8,237
9,089
9,706
10,164
12,911
11,747


Grampian
15,814
15,793
16,593
15,451
16,587
15,599
15,279
19,741
20,539


Lothian and Borders
21,516
21,817
22,941
23,384
23,346
22,911
22,366
24,808
26,433


Northern
7,191
7,535
6,912
7,097
7,609
7,971
8,615
9,826
9,528


Strathclyde
76,984
77,532
79,807
78,687
80,040
81,957
84,019
101,241
96,805


Tayside
10,295
11,284
11,084
10,236
11,114
11,596
12,432
11,760
12,825


All Scotland
150,528
152,168
155,697
152,863
158,812
161,705
166,489
195,228
191,808



  Recorded Crimes of (b) Sexual Offences Since 1997-98 by Police Force Area

  

 
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Central
225
220
110
187
299
301
268
247
404


Dumfries and Galloway
116
146
126
146
101
83
133
106
136


Fife
383
303
372
316
461
554
504
516
479


Grampian
911
816
604
500
574
653
733
858
966


Lothian and Borders
1,171
1,265
974
891
988
1,272
1,319
1,339
1,170


Northern
180
249
178
214
245
267
325
345
339


Strathclyde
3,915
3,508
3,057
3,040
2,976
2,981
3,007
3,446
2,541


Tayside
513
564
461
433
350
512
497
467
523


All Scotland
7,414
7,071
5,882
5,727
5,994
6,623
6,786
7,324
6,558



  Recorded Crimes of (c) Robbery Since 1997-98 by Police Force Area

  

 
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Central
57
74
88
73
83
86
65
69
89


Dumfries and Galloway
26
27
51
45
46
61
45
34
37


Fife
93
122
149
171
179
212
190
218
183


Grampian
226
290
375
240
298
280
238
221
240


Lothian and Borders
719
683
752
738
757
739
803
637
678


Northern
32
27
31
19
27
30
44
52
40


Strathclyde
3,237
3,647
3,345
2,874
3,042
3,099
2,625
2,326
2,152


Tayside
161
157
140
133
160
129
151
179
134


All Scotland
4,551
5,027
4,931
4,293
4,592
4,636
4,161
3,736
3,553



  Recorded Crimes of (e) Theft Since 1997-98 by Police Force Area

  

 
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Central
6,694
7,433
7,573
6,829
6,308
6,360
6,604
6,289
5,682


Dumfries and Galloway
3,346
3,129
3,188
2,960
2,866
3,602
3,374
3,128
3,043


Fife
9,555
10,216
12,351
11,301
11,257
11,874
12,784
13,004
10,766


Grampian
19,305
19,839
21,867
20,029
18,727
16,827
16,069
15,958
15,989


Lothian and Borders
33,592
34,666
37,709
34,652
34,906
33,426
34,990
32,489
31,842


Northern
4,422
4,543
4,820
4,660
4,743
4,467
4,512
4,595
4,454


Strathclyde
93,017
97,932
90,685
83,751
78,986
70,947
63,013
63,092
56,692


Tayside
15,241
14,023
13,622
12,898
13,738
13,022
10,944
11,464
10,669


All Scotland
185,172
191,781
191,815
177,080
171,531
160,525
152,290
150,019
139,137



  Recorded Crimes of (f) Fraud Since 1997-98 by Police Force Area

  


1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Central
601
847
632
694
871
1,152
1,235
781
1,077


Dumfries and Galloway
668
396
478
293
440
514
460
1,066
212


Fife
975
762
1,348
1,747
1,130
1,333
1,279
1,296
866


Grampian
2,659
3,325
3,840
3,260
2,936
1,922
1,349
1,630
1,120


Lothian and Borders
2,296
2,016
5,456
6,217
5,087
4,325
4,630
7,242
2,241


Northern
744
874
675
965
971
940
674
934
744


Strathclyde
7,388
9,211
6,983
6,227
5,370
4,844
4,711
4,200
3,873


Tayside
850
937
1,208
640
590
798
939
1,158
941


All Scotland
16,181
18,368
20,620
20,043
17,395
15,828
15,277
18,307
11,074



  Recorded Crimes of (g) Drug Offences since 1997-98 by Police Force Area

  


1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Central
1,128
1,486
1,119
1,481
1,863
2,027
2,100
1,951
2,033


Dumfries and Galloway
910
869
615
498
589
779
1,002
935
949


Fife
1,817
2,095
1,203
1,359
1,715
1,960
1,924
2,024
1,992


Grampian
2,959
2,880
2,331
2,186
2,786
3,258
2,791
3,037
3,288


Lothian and Borders
3,828
4,046
4,854
5,258
5,697
6,393
5,801
5,914
6,204


Northern
1,511
1,229
1,452
1,188
1,701
1,653
1,960
1,722
2,229


Strathclyde
15,217
18,083
17,080
18,399
20,152
22,285
23,613
22,790
24,229


Tayside
2,065
2,131
1,720
1,712
2,247
2,583
3,084
3,450
3,323


All Scotland
29,435
32,819
30,374
32,081
36,750
40,938
42,275
41,823
44,247



  Recorded Crimes of (h) Motoring Offences since 1997-98 by Police Force Area

  

 
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Central
17,004
19,517
19,572
17,499
21,507
23,663
25,962
20,148
22,641


Dumfries and Galloway
15,992
20,461
16,709
15,097
12,835
12,844
19,131
25,424
25,145


Fife
32,323
39,128
24,319
31,292
28,414
28,548
24,923
24,109
24,825


Grampian
35,974
40,635
34,385
28,692
31,233
36,745
42,758
40,077
34,184


Lothian and Borders
57,621
62,286
57,566
57,785
60,220
52,199
79,733
98,666
81,441


Northern
14,843
15,449
16,159
15,880
17,590
18,145
16,406
15,936
19,914


Strathclyde
143,789
147,822
155,731
150,273
158,702
143,992
173,494
149,345
121,859


Tayside
22,035
21,871
23,020
23,618
32,073
31,846
44,251
44,975
44,316


All Scotland
339,581
367,169
347,461
340,136
362,574
347,982
426,658
418,680
374,325

Crime

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many gun-related crimes there were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jameson: The number of gun-related crime or offences by police force area, from 1996-97 to 2005-06 are shown in the following table:

  Crimes and Offences Recorded by Police in which a Firearm was Alleged to have Been Used, by Police Force

  

 
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Central
29
33
69
42
56
33
22
19
35
17


Dumfries and Galloway
33
22
14
9
14
45
34
22
25
27


Fife
42
23
23
25
21
26
33
12
11
10


Grampian
76
66
66
80
68
72
74
41
33
38


Lothian and Borders
211
189
242
227
225
214
297
329
407
418


Northern
8
9
10
0
0
5
0
0
2
11


Strathclyde
928
637
552
536
522
531
520
452
531
474


Tayside
154
75
75
56
54
77
54
83
92
73


Total
1,481
1,054
1,051
975
960
1,003
1,034
958
1,136
1,068

Crime

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of credit card fraud were committed in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: Under Scots Law fraud is a common law offence. The recorded crime statistics held centrally cannot distinguish different categories of fraud.

Dairy Industry

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent support payments for dairy production are linked to current production levels and whether it considers that the current arrangements are in the long-term interests of the sector.

Ross Finnie: Support payments to the dairy sector are incorporated into the decoupled Single Farm Payment (SFP) agreed as part of the 2003 CAP reforms. Decoupling subsidies for production was a requirement of World Trade Organization agreements. The Dairy Premium and Additional Payment are based on quota held at the qualifying date of 31 March 2004. The principle of decoupling allows farmers to make production decisions in response to the market; meanwhile, the European Commission is signalling the prospect of an end to dairy quotas by 2013.

Dairy Industry

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with the European Union regarding the current basis on which the Dairy Premium and Additional Payment are calculated.

Ross Finnie: There have been no specific discussions with the EU on the Dairy Premium and Additional Payment.

  The Dairy Premium and Additional Payment formed part of the CAP reform package agreed by the EU Agriculture Council in July 2003. The method of calculation was set out in Council Regulation (EC) 1782/2003 adopted in September 2003. In Scotland, both the Dairy Premium and Additional Payment are based on quota held at the qualifying date of 31 March 2004.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that employing authorities have the skills and knowledge to assess whether teachers who have not attended a recognised Teacher of the Deaf course but are employed to teach deaf or hearing impaired pupils have acquired the necessary competencies.

Robert Brown: It is a matter for employing authorities to ensure that teachers’ skills and competencies are updated and that a Continuous Professional Development programme is in place. Head teachers and senior managers in schools support and enhance teachers’ skills through classroom observation and evaluation. The annual staff review and development interview identifies teachers’ strengths and areas where additional training may be necessary to meet the needs of pupils.

  Inspections of local authorities and schools by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education will provide an independent, external evaluation of teachers’ competencies.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how teachers of deaf and hearing impaired pupils will find out about a range of methods to teach deaf children if they stay in their local authority to acquire competencies without attending a Teacher of the Deaf course.

Robert Brown: This is a matter for local authorities to address. They can, if they wish, arrange for teachers to have learning experiences outwith their own authority. Information relating to a wide range of professional development experiences can be found on the national register of providers of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) which can be accessed at www.cpdregister.org.uk . This is due to be replaced by CPDFind, a database of CPD opportunities, in May.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that teachers of deaf pupils who are trained by their employers will engage with issues that may challenge these employers, for example by looking critically at the concept of inclusion and what it means in practice for deaf children.

Robert Brown: Irrespective of where they are trained, all teachers should be able to engage in a constructive dialogue with their employers about learning and teaching.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether teachers of deaf pupils trained through the competency route will be able to have their qualifications recognised in other parts of the United Kingdom or in other European countries.

Robert Brown: It is a matter for employers in other parts of the United Kingdom or Europe to consider whether they recognise the qualifications held by teachers of deaf pupils trained through the competency route.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage more deaf people to train as teachers of deaf children.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive is committed to having 53,000 full-time teachers in our schools by September 2007. It is open to anyone with the appropriate academic qualifications, and who is considering a career in teaching, to apply for entry to courses of Initial Teacher Education, irrespective of any disability they may have.

Drug Misuse

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it cost to produce Know the Score: Anti-Heroin 2006-7 Campaign Evaluation.

Cathy Jamieson: The total cost of the evaluation of the Know the Score anti-heroin campaign in 2006-7 was £22,760 (including VAT). All Know the Score campaigns are evaluated to measure impact and inform further work.

Drug Misuse

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of its anti-cocaine campaign.

Cathy Jamieson: The total cost of the anti-cocaine advertising campaign in 2006-07 to date has been £403,207 (including VAT). This campaign is part of the wider Know the Score information campaign of which the total cost for 2006-07 to date has been £1.3 million. This figure includes £90,000 which is the total cost of creative work for all drugs campaigns carried out in 2006-07 by the Executive, including the anti-cocaine, anti-heroin, parents’ campaign and some general Know the Score work.

Drug Misuse

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of the Know the Score anti-heroin campaign has been in 2006-7.

Cathy Jamieson: The total cost of the anti-heroin advertising campaign in 2006-07 to date has been £283,365 (including VAT). The cost covers research, production and advertising fees. This figure also includes £90,000 which is the total cost of creative work for all drugs campaigns carried out in 2006-07 by the Executive, including the anti-cocaine, anti-heroin, parents’ campaign and some general Know the Score work.

Drug Misuse

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to harm reduction programmes in each year since 2003.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive provides funding, through health boards, to alcohol and drug action teams (ADATs) to tackle drug misuse. It is up to ADATs to decide how to allocate resources according to local needs and priorities. Details of the services and initiatives ADATs fund are set out in their annual Corporate Action Plans which are available at: http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/index.htm . The following table sets out the Scottish Executive funding to tackle drugs misuse:

  

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


£16.952 million
£19.752 million
£23.769 million
£23.769 million



  The Scottish Executive also allocates funding to health boards for blood-borne virus prevention work. These funds are used in a number of ways, including the provision of needle exchange facilities to prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses through the sharing of dirty injecting equipment. The following table sets out the funding for blood-borne virus prevention:

  

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


£8.1 million
£8.1 million
£8.4 million
£8.6 million



  In addition to the blood-borne virus prevention work funding, health boards will receive an additional £2 million funding in 2006-07 and in 2007-08 to support implementation of the Hepatitis C Action Plan for Scotland which includes measures aimed at preventing injecting and helping injectors to stop.

  The Executive is also providing ‎£314,000 for a campaign ‎which focuses ‎on improving knowledge among professionals to ensure ‎that the people and their ‎families affected by hepatitis C get the support ‎they need and access to the best ‎treatment and care available.‎

Eating Disorders

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) 10 to 16, (b) 17 to 23 and (c) 24 to 30 were diagnosed with eating disorders in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not held centrally. Information showing the number of patients discharged from general and psychiatric hospitals with a diagnosis of eating disorder is set out in the following tables. Patients diagnosed with eating disorders can be seen in both settings.

  Table 1: Patients aged 10 to 30 years, with any diagnosis of eating disorder, resident in Scotland and treated in acute (non-obstetric, non-psychiatric) hospitals for years ending 31 March:

  

 
Age Group
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Total


Scotland
10-16
37
30
28
21
23
22
32
24
23
22
262


 
17-23
26
37
29
30
43
36
46
48
42
49
386


 
24-30
34
31
25
39
34
33
29
36
35
33
329


Total 

97
98
82
90
100
91
107
108
100
104
977



  Source: ISD, SMR01.

  Table 2: Total patients aged 10 to 30 years, with any diagnosis of eating disorder, resident in Scotland and treated in acute (non-obstetric, non-psychiatric) hospitals by NHS Board between 1997 and 2006. Given the numbers involved, totals only are provided at NHS board level to protect confidentiality:

  

NHS Board
1997-2006 Total patients Aged 10-30


Ayrshire and Arran
64


Argyll and Clyde
55


Borders
20


Dumfries and Galloway
41


Fife
59


Forth Valley
66


Grampian
117


Greater Glasgow
151


Highland
49


Island Boards
11


Lanarkshire
54


Lothian
240


Tayside
50


Total
977



  Source: ISD, SMR01.

  Table 3: Patients aged 10 to 30 years, with any diagnosis of eating disorders, resident in Scotland and treated in psychiatric hospitals for years ending 31 March to 2003 (latest available):

  

 
Age Group
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Total


Scotland
10-16
15
22
20
22
16
11
11
117


17-23
26
37
31
27
29
25
30
205


24-30
34
33
27
28
27
20
22
191


Total
10-30
75
92
78
77
72
56
63
513



  Source: ISD, SMR04.

  Table 4: Total patients aged 10 to 30 years, with any diagnosis of eating disorders, resident in Scotland and treated in psychiatric hospitals between 1997 and 2003 (latest available). Given the numbers involved, totals only are provided at NHS board level to protect confidentiality:

  

NHS Board
1997-2003 Total Patients Aged 10-30


Ayrshire and Arran
40


Argyll and Clyde
45


Borders
13


Dumfries and Galloway
21


Fife
49


Forth Valley
35


Grampian
51


Greater Glasgow
47


Highland
20


Island Boards
7


Lanarkshire
45


Lothian
86


Tayside
54


Total
513



  Source: ISD, SMR04.

Education

Mr Andrew Arbuckle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been home educated in each of the last five years.

Hugh Henry: The numbers of children known by local authorities to have been home educated in each of the last five years are set out in table 1 of the Scottish Executive Statistics Publication Notice, Children Educated Outwith School and Pupil Projections, 2006 : http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/11/10144033/0 .

Education

Mr Andrew Arbuckle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how and at what frequency inspection of home education is carried out.

Hugh Henry: Section 37 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 does not give an education authority a power of inspection of home education. Where an authority is not satisfied that a parent is providing a home educated child with efficient and suitable education it may serve a notice requiring the parent to give, either in person or writing, such information as the authority may require regarding the means adopted for providing education.

Energy Efficiency

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what strategy it has in place for (a) the use of renewable energy and (b) meeting energy targets in Executive buildings.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive continues to demonstrate its support of renewable technologies by choosing to purchase 100% of the electricity required to run it’s buildings from new renewable sources. We have set a target to reduce the emissions caused by energy use on our estate by 12.6%, from 1999-2000 levels, by March 2011 building to an overall reduction of 30% by March 2020. These targets will principally be delivered through improvements in efficiency on our existing estate but we are also currently investigating options for the installation of microgeneration technologies at a number of our buildings.

  The Executive is working in partnership with it’s projects and property maintenance contractor to develop an energy action plan during 2007 looking at both better management of existing systems and where better technology can be utilised to reduce the carbon emissions relative to the operation of our buildings. We will be commencing a project later this year to replace the lighting, heating and cooling systems and controls at Meridian Court, one of our main buildings in Glasgow, to substantially improve the facilities available while delivering improvements in energy efficiency. We are also continuing to raise awareness of the simple and effective measures such as turning off unnecessary lighting and switching off computers, printers and photocopiers when not in use. This will be addressed at both the corporate level through Executive-wide initiatives and at the local level through the developing environmental management systems in our target buildings and our network of Environmental Guardians who are tasked with promoting better practices within the workplace.

European Convention on Human Rights

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases heard in Scottish courts in each of the last eight years were due to alleged breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Cathy Jamieson: Scottish Court Service does not hold this information centrally.

Financial Inclusion

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to power companies and Virgin Media regarding additional charges applied to customers who do not, or cannot, use direct debits and the impact that this has on those who are most financially vulnerable.

Rhona Brankin: Our financial inclusion strategy acknowledges that people who have no access to a bank account suffer undue hardship. The UK government has agreed with banks to work towards the goal of halving the number of adults in households without a bank account, and to make significant progress against that target within 2 years. Four credit unions in Scotland are now offering transaction services to their members as part of a Banking Services initiative which will assist those credit union members who are currently without a bank account and therefore financially excluded.

  My predecessor Malcolm Chisholm met with energy companies in September and November last year. Various measures to protect vulnerable customers from rising prices were discussed but the specific issue of additional charges to customers not using direct debit was not discussed. We have made no representations to Virgin Media.

Firearms

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many gun crimes were committed in each of the last 10 years with (a) legally registered and (b) illegally held weapons.

Cathy Jameson: This information is not held centrally.

First Minister

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the reported comments on hospital car parking charges by the First Minister at the latest "Ask Jack" event that "At the moment we don’t get involved in those decisions by the health boards. But, unless charges are dealt with more reasonably by health boards then we will start interfering", what forms of intervention will be considered.

Mr Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-32181 on 16 March 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Flooding

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning applications proposing development on flood plains have been approved contrary to advice from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the terms of Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 7 in each of the last five years; how many homes and buildings this represents, and whether it will give details of each such application.

Des McNulty: In the last five years the Scottish Executive has been notified of 12 planning applications because SEPA advised against the granting of planning permission on grounds of flood risk but the planning authority still wished to grant permission.

  

 
Applications Notified
Returned to PA
Called-In
Approved


2002
2
1
1
1


2003
0
0
0
0


2004
7
6
1
0


2005
2
2
0
0


2006
1
1
0
0



  Details on the decisions taken by planning authorities where an application is returned to them and on the number of homes and buildings represented by the notified applications is not held centrally.

Flooding

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any guidance about building on a flood plain (a) within and (b) outwith a national park and whether it considers that residential dwelling houses should be built in areas considered to be at risk of flood once in every 200 years.

Des McNulty: Guidance about building on a flood plain is contained in Scottish Planning Policy (SPP)7 and Planning Advice Note (PAN) 69. The guidance does not distinguish between development within and outwith a national park.

  Where the calculated probability of flooding is greater than once in every 200 years, the SPP sets out appropriate planning responses for two different types of area. Firstly, in areas already built up the SPP indicates that residential development may be suitable on brownfield land provided that flood prevention measures already exist, are under construction or are planned. Secondly, for undeveloped and sparsely developed areas, it says that they are not suitable for additional development.

  The SPP points out that the calculated probability of a flood occurring has to be treated as a best estimate and not a precise forecast. Other factors including the depth of the water on the land and the effects of a flood on access have to be taken into consideration on a case-by-case basis.

  As a matter of law the development plan and other material considerations will have to be taken into account in reaching a decision.

Homelessness

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 16-year-olds were recorded as homeless in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

Rhona Brankin: The following table gives the number of households assessed as homeless where the main applicant was aged 16. This information is available from 2002-03 onward.

  Households Assessed as Homeless with Main Applicant Aged 16: 2002-03 to 2005-06

  

 
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Aberdeen City
50
30
30
30


Aberdeenshire
40
45
35
30


Angus
20
30
20
30


Argyll and Bute
40
40
35
30


Clackmannanshire
15
20
25
25


Dumfries and Galloway
25
35
45
35


Dundee City
25
20
20
20


East Ayrshire
15
25
25
20


East Dunbartonshire
5
5
10
5


East Lothian
15
5
15
30


East Renfrewshire
5
5
15
5


Edinburgh, City of
195
170
165
140


Eilean Siar
5
5
5
5


Falkirk
45
30
25
45


Fife
85
140
110
140


Glasgow City
240
210
245
205


Highland
40
65
60
70


Inverclyde
15
15
20
10


Midlothian
20
25
30
25


Moray
5
15
15
20


North Ayrshire
70
60
35
50


North Lanarkshire
50
50
75
75


Orkney
-
5
5
5


Perth and Kinross
20
25
25
10


Renfrewshire
15
25
20
25


Scottish Borders, The
20
30
20
15


Shetland
10
-
-
-


South Ayrshire
20
15
20
25


South Lanarkshire
65
45
45
45


Stirling
15
20
25
25


West Dunbartonshire
25
25
35
40


West Lothian
70
45
65
60


Scotland
1,295
1,275
1,320
1,295



  Source: HL1 returns submitted by local authorities to the Scottish Executive Development Department Analytical Services Division (Housing Statistics).

  Notes:

  1. All assessments in period. 2. Due to small numbers, figures have been rounded to the nearest five, and may therefore not sum to the Scotland total. 3. Due to the live nature of the data collection system, figures are updated on a continuous basis and the information published here may differ from that published previously. 4. The following symbols are used in the tables:

  - nil. .. missing.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died after contracting MRSA in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is given in the following tables.

  Deaths where MRSA was the Underlying Cause of Death

  

NHS Board of Residence
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


Scotland
36
46
39
42
38


Ayrshire and Arran
1
4
2
1
 


Borders
1
2
1
1
2


Dumfries and Galloway
1
 
 
2
1


Fife
2
2
8
2
1


Forth Valley
6
2
1
2
 


Grampian
3
3
1
1
3


Greater Glasgow and Clyde1
10
17
11
15
12


Highland1
1
1
2
1
3


Lanarkshire
 
3
7
6
9


Lothian
6
10
4
5
4


Orkney
 
 
 
 
 


Shetland
 
 
 
 
 


Tayside
5
2
2
6
2


Western Isles
 
 
 
 
1


 
 
 
 
 
 


Argyll and Clyde2
5
4
 
6
2


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde pt.
4
4
 
6
2


 Highland pt.
1
 
 
 
 


Greater Glasgow2
6
13
11
9
10


Highland2
 
1
2
1
3



  Notes:

  1. New NHS board areas including parts of former Argyll and Clyde 2. Former NHS board areas (before dissolution of Argyll and Clyde on 1 April 2006).

  Deaths where MRSA was Mentioned on the Death Certificate (Includes Cases where MRSA was the Underlying Cause of Death)

  

NHS Board of Residence
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


Scotland
136
155
169
190
212


Ayrshire and Arran
9
11
10
9
10


Borders
6
4
5
2
2


Dumfries and Galloway
6
5
7
8
13


Fife
14
8
22
21
15


Forth Valley
10
8
6
6
6


Grampian
8
11
10
16
10


Greater Glasgow and Clyde1
24
34
39
44
60


Highland1
6
6
8
8
15


Lanarkshire
4
14
16
20
25


Lothian
31
41
33
32
35


Orkney
 
1
 
 
 


Shetland
1
1
 
 
1


Tayside
16
11
12
22
16


Western Isles
1
 
1
2
4


Argyll and Clyde2
9
9
9
12
9


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde pt.
6
8
7
10
6


 Highland pt.
3
1
2
2
3


Greater Glasgow2
18
26
32
34
54


Highland2
3
5
6
6
12



  Notes:

  1. New NHS board areas including parts of former Argyll and Clyde. 2. Former NHS board areas (before dissolution of Argyll and Clyde on 1 April 2006).

  These data should be treated with caution. Recording of HAIs as a cause of death is based on the clinical judgement of individual doctors. Recording of specific causes may be influenced by an increased public and professional awareness of that infection, and increases in reporting may not reliably indicate true changes in incidence. Note that the data relate to NHS board of residence and not place of death.

  The Ministerial HAI Task Force has developed a raft of measures, based on evidence and best practice, including surveillance, professional guidance, education and training programmes, enhanced reporting and accountability structures

  As part of the work of the Ministerial HAI Task Force, we have enhanced monitoring and surveillance measures. Since October 2006, reporting of all Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemias has been mandatory.

Hospitals

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) violent assaults and (b) arrests took place in hospitals in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The recorded crime statistics are based on an aggregate return, which does not give details of individual crimes, for instance the location of an assault. Statistics on the number of arrests made by police forces are not held centrally.

Hospitals

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is considering to ensure compliance with guidelines on hospital car parking charges.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28666 by Mr Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006, whether it will consider publishing the report of the review of hospital car parking charges, in light of the First Minister’s recent comments to nurses that NHS boards should deal more reasonably with charges or face intervention from the Executive.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28666 by Mr Andy Kerr on 24 October 2006, whether the report of the review of hospital car parking charges has been completed and, if not, when it is expected to be completed.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that guidance issued in relation to hospital car parking charges is not being followed and, if so, whether it is considering direct intervention in this issue.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances it considers that its intervention in relation to hospital car parking charges would be warranted.

Mr Andy Kerr: Revised guidance on car park charging has issued this week to NHS boards in a Health Department Letter. The revised guidance reflects both the findings from the report of the review of hospital car parking charges prepared by officials, in consultation with NHS boards, and the Health Committee’s criticisms of the guidance introduced in 2004 but the guiding principles of the earlier guidance have been retained. In particular, the introduction of car park charging, or revision of existing arrangements, is a matter for NHS boards in light of local circumstances.

  The car parking consultation identified examples of good practice across NHSScotland and the intention of the revised guidance is to make these examples become the good practice of all NHS boards and thereby improve the car parking experience for all staff, patients, carers and visitors.

  NHS boards are expected to comply with guidance issued by the Health Department in the form of Health Department Letters (HDLs). Boards which fail to comply with the car parking guidance or any other guidance issued in the form of HDLs are accountable to the Chief Executive of NHS Scotland.

Housing

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) households and (b) children lived in overcrowded housing in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Rhona Brankin: The following table 1 shows the percentage of Scottish households living in overcrowded housing for each health board area, and the following table 2 shows the percentage of children in Scotland who live in overcrowded housing.

  Table 1: Percentage of Scottish Households Living in Overcrowded Housing, by Health Board Area

  

 
 
1999-2000
2001-02
2003-04


%
Base
%
Base
%
Base


Highland
1%
1,129
2%
1,206
1%
1,167


Grampian
3%
3,043
3%
3,123
2%
3,082


Tayside
3%
2,188
3%
2,275
2%
2,167


Fife
2%
1,894
2%
1,910
2%
2,083


Lothian
3%
4,490
3%
4,392
3%
4,490


Borders
2%
609
2%
642
2%
663


Forth Valley
3%
2,021
2%
1,937
2%
2,016


Argyll and Clyde
5%
2,471
4%
2,468
3%
2,526


Greater Glasgow
5%
4,677
4%
4,863
5%
4,721


Lanarkshire
5%
2,885
4%
2,871
4%
3,021


Ayrshire and Arran
3%
2,172
3%
2,165
2%
2,073


Dumfries and Galloway
2%
878
3%
822
2%
814


Orkney
1%
540
1%
649
2%
665


Shetland
3%
561
2%
624
1%
653


Western Isles
3%
658
3%
643
2%
563



  Table 2: Percentage of Scottish Children Living in Overcrowded Housing, by Health Board Area

  

 
 
1999-2000
2001-02
2003-004


%
Base
%
Base
%
Base


Highland
5%
564
8%
593
5%
575


Grampian
9%
1,526
9%
1,481
6%
1,430


Tayside
8%
967
11%
990
8%
814


Fife
7%
939
10%
925
8%
983


Lothian
10%
2,096
9%
2,060
12%
1,961


Borders
7%
298
7%
278
5%
287


Forth Valley
8%
1,045
6%
933
5%
929


Argyll and Clyde
16%
1,196
13%
1,088
12%
1,125


Greater Glasgow
17%
2,232
14%
2,177
17%
2,022


Lanarkshire
14%
1,567
13%
1,560
11%
1,471


Ayrshire and Arran
9%
1,058
10%
1,017
8%
934


Dumfries and Galloway
10%
417
12%
406
4%
341


Orkney
6%
261
4%
269
7%
311


Shetland
7%
379
6%
69
6%
302


Western Isles
11%
294
11%
267
7%
231



  Source: The Scottish Household Survey, 1999-2004.

  Notes:

  1. Please interpret changes with caution as the statistics can fluctuate from year to year because of sampling variability. 2. The results are given for two-year sweeps as the survey is not designed to be representative for all sub-Scotland areas for a single year. In addition, it should be noted that the survey is designed to be representative for local authorities over a two-year period, not for health board areas. 3. Figures for 2006 have not yet been published. 4. For the purposes of this question, "overcrowded households" are defined as being households which are below the bedroom standard. The calculation of the number of bedrooms required is based on the assumption that a separate bedroom is required for:

  
each cohabiting couple;
  any other person aged 21 years or over;
  each pair of young persons of the same sex aged 10 to 20 years, and
  each pair of children under 10 years (regardless of sex).
Unpaired young persons aged 10 to 20 are paired with a child under 10 of the same sex if possible or allocated a separate bedroom. Any unpaired children under 10 are also allocated a separate bedroom.


  5. The base numbers show the size of the population sub-group questioned in the survey (i.e. people examined in each area) but cannot be used to calculate how many respondents gave a certain answer. The base in table 1 is the number of households, and in table 2 is the number of children in those households.

Housing

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have benefited from the Homestake shared equity scheme in Edinburgh through (a) open market purchase and (b) new supply.

Rhona Brankin: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  
Information about Homestake shared equity scheme purchases in the City of Edinburgh is available to the end of February 2007 and shows that 395 people have bought a property on the open market with the assistance of a Homestake grant and 71 people have bought a new supply Homestake property.

Housing

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers it acceptable or proper for registered social landlords to specify specific manufacturers’ products in tender documents when alternative products of similar specification are available.

Rhona Brankin: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  
Any registered social landlord, in its role as a contracting authority, awarding a contract in compliance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, must ensure that the technical specification in the Invitation to Tender documentation does not refer to materials or goods of a specific make or source or to a particular process, trademark, patent, type or origin or means of production which has the effect of favouring or eliminating particular suppliers.
An exception to this would be where the subject of the contract makes the use of such reference indispensable or the subject of the contract cannot otherwise be described by reference to technical specification which is sufficiently precise and intelligible to all suppliers/bidders, provided that such reference is accompanied by the words "or equivalent".
In practice, this means that it is permissible for a contracting authority to quote examples of a product as being indicative of the standard, or quality, they are seeking, provided the words "or equivalent" are added.
Where the form of contract is "design and build" the successful contractor may elect to use the flexibility implicit in the form, "or equivalent" to make a substitution in which case he has to demonstrate to the contracting authority that this alternative product or component provides equivalent performance.

Housing

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take action to prevent any registered social landlord from specifying specific manufacturers’ products in tender documents when alternative products of similar specification are available.

Rhona Brankin: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  
It is the responsibility of each contracting authority to ensure that, where relevant, it complies with the procedures set out in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
If there is found to be a problem of Scottish contracting authorities breaching their legal obligations in terms of their technical specifications, the Scottish Executive can issue guidance to public purchasers in Scotland outlining these obligations.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to investigate the charging of VAT at 17.5% for insulated wall rendering and roofing works carried out on the homes of owner-occupiers factored by Glasgow Housing Association.

Rhona Brankin: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  
This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to pursue with Glasgow Housing Association and we await the outcome of their discussions. The Scottish Executive has made clear its interest in this matter to both parties.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees with Glasgow Housing Association’s (GHA) position that it is legally obliged by registered charity law to recover the costs of renovation works carried out on the homes of owner-occupiers that it factors within 12 months and, if not, whether it has plans to investigate the matter.

Rhona Brankin: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  
This is a matter for Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) as an independent housing association. GHA is a registered charity and is obliged to abide by charitable law. Such bodies are expected to seek and act on their own legal advice in relation to specific issues, and I understand that GHA has done that in relation to the period of time it can allow owners to repay costs without jeopardising its charitable status.

Life Expectancy

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what average life expectancy for (a) men and (b) women was in each parliamentary constituency in each year since 1997.

George Lyon: Life expectancy is not calculated for parliamentary constituencies. Life expectancy at birth for council and NHS board areas and, from 2003-05, for certain other areas is available from the General Register Office for Scotland website through the following link: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/life-expectancy/index.html .

Mental Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children and young people between the ages of 12 and 20 who required hospital treatment for (a) alcohol and (b) substance misuse were accommodated in adult psychiatric units in each of the last three years.

Lewis Macdonald: Information on the number of people aged 12 to 20 who were discharged from Scottish mental hospitals and psychiatric units with a diagnosis of alcohol or drug misuse from 2000-01 to 2004-05 is set out in the following table.

  

Alcohol Misuse
Drugs Misuse


Year
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03P
2003-04P
2004-05P
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03P
2003-04P
2004-05P


Total Number of Patients
52
49
76
63
66
207
191
210
177
167


Mental Hospitals and 
Units with no 
child/adolescent facilities
41
40
71
55
58
180
158
187
154
148


 Mental Hospitals and 
psychiatric units with child/adolescent facilities
11
9
6
8
9
30
34
25
23
20



  PProvisional.

  Patients admitted more than once within a year may be counted in more than one facility category in the table. Thus, the sum of numbers in a column may exceed the national total.

Ministers

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Justice attended a public discussion meeting at Partick Burgh Halls at 7 pm on 22 January 2007 in her official capacity

Cathy Jamieson: Only official engagements are recorded in ministerial diaries therefore the Scottish Executive holds no information on this event.

  I can confirm, however, that I did attend the meeting in question.

Ministers

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the Minister for Justice’s ministerial engagements were on 22 January 2007.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is listed in the following table:

  

Engagement Type
Organisation
Location


Meeting
Convenors of the Community Justice Authorities
Meridian Court, Glasgow


Meeting with Officials
Scottish Executive
Meridian Court, Glasgow

Northern Ireland

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated security costs are for the Northern Ireland devolution summit held at St Andrews in October 2006 and who will meet these costs.

Cathy Jamieson: The final costs of the security operation in relation to the multiparty peace talks held at St Andrew’s in October 2006 are estimated to be £984,000. These costs have been met by the Scottish Executive, the UK Government, and Fife Constabulary.

Nursery Education

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the public sector provision is of full-time and part-time nursery places for three and four-year-olds in south Edinburgh.

Robert Brown: Information on the pattern of nursery provision in specific areas within local authorities is not held centrally.

Nursery Education

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to reduce the number of full-time nursery places available for three and four-year-olds in south and south-east Edinburgh.

Robert Brown: Local authorities are responsible for the planning and provision of pre-school education at local level. The information requested is not held centrally.

People with Learning Disabilities

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent per capita on students with learning difficulties in each of the last five years.

Robert Brown: Expenditure on students with learning difficulties is not recorded specifically in local authority accounts. However, their information on the expenditure on special education is published in table 1.1 of Expenditure on School Education in Scotland , on the Executive’s website:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/02/07145319/0 .

  Numbers of pupils with additional support needs, both in mainstream and special schools, are published in tables 1.1 and 1.5 of Pupils in Scotland, on the Executive’s website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/PubPupilCensus.

  There may be some variation in the way in which local authorities allocate spend on special education in their accounts, so per pupil calculations may not be accurate.

Piers and Harbours

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the letter from the Minister for Environment and Rural Development (ref. 2006/0022748), whether advice from the Executive’s Legal and Parliamentary Unit has been received and whether the minister is in a position to respond substantively to me.

Ross Finnie: I can confirm that advice has been received from the Office of the Solicitor to the Scottish Executive providing clarification on the Executive’s position regarding ownership and responsibility for maintenance of Crovie Pier. As a result the Executive will seek further dialogue with the Crown Estate and Historic Scotland and I will advise you of the outcome in due course.

Pre-School Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many day nurseries have (a) closed and (b) opened since 2003, broken down into (i) private, voluntary and independent and (ii) maintained nurseries.

Robert Brown: This information is not available in the format requested. Information on the number of nurseries by management sector since 2003 are published in the Summary Results of the 2003 Pre-School and Daycare Census , and the 2004-06 versions of Pre-School and Childcare Statistics (Bib. numbers 28688, 33362, 40112, and 40411 respectively).

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of state-educated people with learning difficulties served prison sentences in each of the last 10 years.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  
This information requested is not available.

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-32072 by Johann Lamont on 7 March 2007, how much funding from the £10 million confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was given to each project listed.

Johann Lamont: Funding was made available to the local authority areas of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire for visible community projects, which were listed in the answer to question S2W-32072 on 7 March 2007. Information on the precise amounts used for each project listed is not held centrally.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-32072 by Johann Lamont on 7 March 2007, whether all local authorities were invited to bid for the money confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and how and when any decision was taken that only certain authorities were eligible for funding.

Johann Lamont: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-27630 on 31 August 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Public Transport

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is monitoring the progress of public transport quality partnerships and quality contracts and whether it is aware of any problems arising from difficulties in creating quality contracts between bus companies and local authorities.

Tavish Scott: The recent bus policy review concluded that a step change is required in the quality of bus service provision and infrastructure. The outcomes of the review are contained in Moving into the future – An Action Plan for Buses which was launched in December 2006 as part of the National Transport Strategy. One of the actions included in the Action Plan is a review of the legislation on Quality Partnerships to simplify the process and increase the benefits to the passenger.

  Again as part of the Bus Action Plan, in order to support franchising where there is market failure, there will be a review of the legislation on Quality Contracts to simplify the process to be followed by transport authorities.

Renewable Energy

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines are in place in respect of the siting of wind farms.

Rhona Brankin: Existing planning policies are set out in National Planning Policy Guideline 6: Renewable Energy Developments. Consultation has taken place on revised guidance and this is expected to be published shortly.

Renewable Energy

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for micropower technologies to be covered by general permitted development orders.

Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-30919 on 22 January 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Roads

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost will be of maintenance of the A830 from Fort William to Mallaig since the beginning of its upgrade from single to twin track road to completion, expressed in 2006 prices.

Tavish Scott: Work on upgrading the A830 trunk road to twin track started in the late 1970s. Between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2006, around £3.5 million (at 2006 costs) was spent on maintenance of the A830. This is in addition to substantial sums spent on winter maintenance, grass cutting and other maintenance, which are not allocated to specific routes.

  Prior to 2001, maintenance expenditure was not allocated to specific routes.

  It is expected that maintenance expenditure will, broadly, continue at current levels for the foreseeable future, although on the recently improved sections of road we would expect to spend less on maintaining the carriageway.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area and can be contacted for more information if required.

Schools

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the guidelines on the use of biometric systems in schools, currently being developed by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, will apply in Scotland.

Answered by Hugh Henry (16 March 2007): I understand that this guidance is being developed on behalf of the Department for Education and Science and will, therefore, only apply to schools in England.

  
The following is a corrected answer (published on 28 March 2007); see below.


  I understand that this guidance is being developed on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills and will, therefore, only apply to schools in England.

Scottish Executive Departments

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations have been employed to provide external consultancy advice on rebranding its departments since 1999 and what the costs have been of such advice.

Mr Tom McCabe: There have been no organisations which have been employed to provide external consultancy advice on rebranding the Scottish Executive departments since 1999.

Scottish Executive Finance

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its budget was taken up by PFI/PPP commitments in each of the last 10 years, broken down by department.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is set out in the following table.

  Executive PPP Commitments as a Percentage of Departmental Budgets¹

  


Year
Justice²
Education
Enterprise, Transport and 
  Lifelong Learning
Finance and Central Services
Scottish Executive Total


1999-2000
2.4
0
1.1
0.1
0.3


2000-01
2.3
0
1
0.4
0.3


2001-02
2
0
0.8
0.7
0.4


2002-03
1.4
0
0.8
0.7
0.4


2003-04
1.1
0
0.6
0.8
0.4


2004-05
1.4
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.4


2005-06
1.2
1
0.8
0.9
0.4


2006-07
  (estimate)
-
2.9
0.8
0.9
0.4




  Notes:

  1. The Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) budget has been used which includes both operating and capital budgets. 2. A figure for 2006-07 is not currently available.

  The PPP commitments of the Scottish Executive fall into two categories: the unitary charge for the Executive’s own PPP projects and the support funding provided to local authority PPP projects. In the case of the latter, the full unitary charge figure has not been shown as only the funding provided by the Executive is a commitment for the Executive.

  The table includes figures from devolution only.

Sport

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the sale of Meadowbank Stadium fits with the National Strategy for Sport.

Patricia Ferguson: Reaching Higher defines the role of local authorities in taking a strategic approach to the provision and management of sports facilities within their corporate asset management strategy. The revised strategy also states that local authorities should liaise with sportscotland and sport governing bodies and take into account the needs of local communities in planning for sports facilities.

  The City of Edinburgh Council announced its intention to replace Meadowbank Sports Centre with a new facility at Sighthill in December 2006. The City of Edinburgh Council is currently conducting a public consultation which sets out its intentions for the Meadowbank site. Comments are sought by 30 March.

Suicide

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children committed suicide in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board area.

George Lyon: In presenting statistics on suicides it is conventional to combine deaths classified as intentional self-harm (suicides) with those classified as events of undetermined intent. This is because the majority of the latter are likely to have been suicides. However, this assumption is known to be less valid for children, particularly those aged under 10. For this reason the following table shows the two categories separately and restricts the information on events of undetermined intent to deaths aged 10-15.

  

NHS Board Area1
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


(a) Deaths aged under 16 from intentional self-harm (suicides)
 
 
 
 


Scotland
5
1
5
4
8
6
3
4
3
4


Ayrshire and Arran
-
-
1
-
-
1
-
-
-
-


Fife
-
-
-
-
1
1
-
-
2
1


Grampian
1
-
-
1
2
-
-
-
-
-


Greater Glasgow and Clyde2
1
1
2
1
-
3
1
1
-
1


Highland2
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1


Lanarkshire
1
-
-
1
3
-
-
-
-
-


Lothian
1
-
1
1
2
1
2
-
-
1


Tayside
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
3
1
-


(b) Deaths aged 10 - 15 classified as events of undetermined intent
 
 
 


Scotland
2
4
3
3
4
-
2
1
-
2


Ayrshire and Arran
-
-
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


Dumfries and Galloway
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


Fife
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


Forth Valley
-
1
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


Grampian
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


Greater Glasgow and Clyde2
-
1
1
-
1
-
1
-
-
1


Highland2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1


Lanarkshire
-
1
-
1
2
-
-
1
-
-


Lothian
-
-
-
-
1
-
1
-
-
-



  Notes:

  1. NHS Board Areas with no relevant deaths have been omitted. 2. Incorporating part of the former NHS Argyll and Clyde area.

Transport

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who the point of contact for MSPs is at Transport Scotland.

Tavish Scott: The Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, Dr Malcolm Reed, is happy to handle any correspondence or queries from MSPs. His contact details are:

  8th Floor, Buchanan House 58 Port Dundas Road Glasgow G4 0HF. Telephone: 0141-272 7112. E-mail: chiefexecutive@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk.

  Further information on contacting Transport Scotland can be found on its website: www.transportscotland.gov.uk.

Water Charges

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the exemption from the payment of water and sewerage charges extended to Church of Scotland congregations will be continued after 2010.

Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-31878 on 2 March 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .